Remanufacturing of Woven Carbon Fibre Fabric Production Waste into High Performance Aligned Discontinuous Fibre Composites

Parthasarathi Aravindan; Federico Becagli; Marco L. Longana; Lourens G. Blok; Thomas R. Pozegic; Samantha J. Huntley; Thomas Rendall; Ian Hamerton

doi:10.3390/jcs4020068

Journal of Composites Science (Jun 2020)

Remanufacturing of Woven Carbon Fibre Fabric Production Waste into High Performance Aligned Discontinuous Fibre Composites

Parthasarathi Aravindan,
Federico Becagli,
Marco L. Longana,
Lourens G. Blok,
Thomas R. Pozegic,
Samantha J. Huntley,
Thomas Rendall,
Ian Hamerton

Affiliations

Parthasarathi Aravindan: Bristol Composites Institute (ACCIS), Department of Aerospace Engineering, School of Civil, Aerospace, and Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol, Queen’s Building, University Walk, Bristol, BS8 1TR, UK
Federico Becagli: Microtex Composites SRL, Via Toscana 59, 59100, Prato, Italy
Marco L. Longana: Bristol Composites Institute (ACCIS), Department of Aerospace Engineering, School of Civil, Aerospace, and Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol, Queen’s Building, University Walk, Bristol, BS8 1TR, UK
Lourens G. Blok: Bristol Composites Institute (ACCIS), Department of Aerospace Engineering, School of Civil, Aerospace, and Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol, Queen’s Building, University Walk, Bristol, BS8 1TR, UK
Thomas R. Pozegic: Bristol Composites Institute (ACCIS), Department of Aerospace Engineering, School of Civil, Aerospace, and Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol, Queen’s Building, University Walk, Bristol, BS8 1TR, UK
Samantha J. Huntley: Bristol Composites Institute (ACCIS), Department of Aerospace Engineering, School of Civil, Aerospace, and Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol, Queen’s Building, University Walk, Bristol, BS8 1TR, UK
Thomas Rendall: Bristol Composites Institute (ACCIS), Department of Aerospace Engineering, School of Civil, Aerospace, and Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol, Queen’s Building, University Walk, Bristol, BS8 1TR, UK
Ian Hamerton: Bristol Composites Institute (ACCIS), Department of Aerospace Engineering, School of Civil, Aerospace, and Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol, Queen’s Building, University Walk, Bristol, BS8 1TR, UK

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs4020068
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 4, no. 2
p. 68

Abstract

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The composites industry generates considerable volumes of waste in a wide variety of forms, from the production of by-products to end-of-life parts. This paper focuses on the remanufacturing of dry fibre off-cuts, produced during the composite fabric weaving process, into highly aligned discontinuous fibre prepreg tapes with High Performance Discontinuous Fibre (HiPerDiF) technology. Unidirectional laminate specimens are prepared using various combinations of fibre lengths and tested in tension, obtaining a stiffness of 80 GPa, a strength of 800 MPa, and a failure strain of 1%. Several applications are envisaged for the produced tape: adhesive film, feedstock for filament winding, and tow for weaved fabrics. This work demonstrates the possibility to extract value from what is currently considered manufacturing waste.

Published in Journal of Composites Science

ISSN: 2504-477X (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Italy
LCC subjects: Technology; Science
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/jcs

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